


Smell to High Heaven

by Rabentochter



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bickering, Cecaelia Loki (Marvel), Cecaelias, Choking, Coffee Addict Tony Stark, Hopeful Ending, Humor, Light Angst, Loki (Marvel) Does What He Wants, Loki (Marvel) Gets What He Wants, Loki (Marvel) Is A Little Shit, M/M, Pizza, Pre-Slash, Spells & Enchantments, Tentacles, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs Sleep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:27:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22362577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rabentochter/pseuds/Rabentochter
Summary: Tony wakes up tired after sleeping in too late, so it takes longer than it should have to realise that JARVIS isn't online– but when he does, he knows there must be something fishy going on.
Relationships: Loki/Tony Stark
Comments: 32
Kudos: 139





	Smell to High Heaven

**Author's Note:**

  * For [greenishio](https://archiveofourown.org/users/greenishio/gifts).



> This was inspired by the amazing **Greenishio** ❤️
> 
> Also thank you to **NamelesslyNightlock** for fighting the summary with me and the tags ❤️

When Tony woke up this morning – it was about 3pm – he didn’t expect this day to be anything other than ordinarily boring. As his days so often were. He went to bed at nine in the morning, woke up for some reason at twelve o’clock, made himself a coffee, then went straight back into bed.

Tony couldn’t remember _why_ he’d gone back to bed, three hours normally were more than enough for him to function on, but he got more sleep anyway. Life was a mystery and a puzzle and Tony Stark was beyond caring, he simply run with it at this point. Otherwise he’d have to wonder about why he had an arc reactor in his chest as well and sometimes it was better to leave things as they were.

He made another coffee and went on to check the messages on his phone; Rhodey sent him a new meme about them fighting in a _cherry tree park_ together and Pepper made sure he knew all about SI’s most recent developments. And there was going to be a meeting tomorrow at 11am. His calendar was full.

When his mug was empty and only the aroma of coffee was floating in the air; a soft scent of vanilla and chocolate which made him yearn for another one, he realised how quiet it was in the house. Admittedly, he lived on a _cliff_ and there was only one way up to his home but still –

JARVIS hadn’t told him the weather forecast yet which he loved doing, simply to make him go outside to _enjoy the nice weather._ The windows were still open and not closed yet, a fresh breeze of air whirling around his nose. It smelled faintly of salt from the sea outside. He couldn’t smell the chlorine from his pool. There was _still_ his not washed wardrobe from yesterday. Normally it would be long since back, dried, and folded in his cupboard at this point.

This, whatever this was, smelled fishy to Tony. He made himself another mug of coffee, a frown on his face. There were coincidences, there was laziness, and finally, there was _life._ Tony didn’t believe in coincidences, much less in faith and destiny. His room service got paid handsomely so he doubted they hadn’t come in yet because they felt like being sick.

And JARVIS didn’t respond to him either when he sent out a message. _This_ was more than unusual. Tony took a sip, ignored the light burn on his tongue and stood up to leave for his workshop downstairs, closing the windows manually as he passed them.

He couldn’t hear anything. There were no traitorous footsteps in the house and when Tony checked the surveillance cameras as he quietly turned on JARVIS again, there was nothing to be seen there either. There was only a temporarily electricity cut but he’d been asleep so –

Yeah.

“Check the air for anything suspicious,” he told JARVIS. “Chloroform, Valium –“

“ _Sir, you haven’t been kidnapped.”_

“I _could_ have been though.” Tony stared at the surveillance recordings, replayed them again. There was _nothing_ happening there. The coffee had gone cold and he only read the weather forecast JARVIS gave him with one eye. Nice weather, sunshine, a few single clouds here and there. That was all still ordinary.

The cleaning crew had sent him a mail that the gate’s been locked, and they hadn’t been able to get in because the electricity was out.

And why they hadn’t alarmed anyone? Because lights been burning inside, so they assumed he was doing something with his suits and thought it best to leave him alone. There was a promise to return this evening though if he needed them.

What Tony needed was more coffee – warm one – and an explanation _why_ everything had gone dark in his house.

_“The air is clean. 21% of oxygen, 78% of nitrogen and the usual amount of argon, carbon dioxide and methane.”_ JARVIS sounded worried, for some reason. “ _Sir, you might want to take a look at the pool.”_

“At the pool?” Tony looked at the pool on his camera. There was nothing. Just water sloshing around. “There’s nothing to be seen, J.”

“ _There’s an unusual tinge to the water colour, Sir.”_

“What?”

“ _And there’s less chlorine in it. In fact, the salt levels have risen.”_

Tony blinked. Blinked some more, the coffee in his hands forgotten.

“ _In fact, your pool resembles the water of the ocean, Sir.”_

“It does - _what?”_ Tony shook his head. Disbelief was running through him. His pool, clean from leaves and free from idiots unlike how it was on a beach, was now like the _sea_? He turned back to the surveillance cameras, focused on the pool – which he’d neglected to look at carefully earlier – but, again there was nothing to be seen. Only water. Sloshing, small waves run over the surface from the wind and –

_Oh_. As Tony looked closer to the water, he could see a shift of the colour tone by 10am. It got lightly darker. Didn’t it? He blinked. “That’s not how water is supposed to work, JARVIS.”

_“I am aware of that, Sir.”_

“Great.” He stared at the screen, replayed the moment. Threw up a picture of the pool yesterday and compared it to how it looked like now. It really was a nuance darker and if JARVIS wasn’t pulling a leg on him, the water distribution had decreased. Not that it was that noticeable, but it _was there_.

Which told Tony there were now two possibilities for his pool. And the option, that he just lost water seemed more appealing than the other one.

“Did I write my testimony yet?” he wondered out loud.

“ _You have.”_

Amazing. JARVIS, his loyal soul, knowing stuff Tony tended to forget about because his head was filled with so much other stuff, it was downright troublesome to remember _everything_. Bad enough he had a good memory of faces _and_ names because life couldn’t be nice to him, at all. Ever.

Was why he was Tony Stark, right? The one who got shit unloaded on his shoulders and held a glass of champagne in his hands, trying to hide all the murk inside. Lovely, just _lovely_.

“Well then. Time to investigate my pool!” He tried to force an ounce of cheer in his voice but found it did not work. Instead he sounded sarcastic. Good thing he had his vocals under control, didn’t he? Perhaps the coffee hadn’t done him so well.

He put a gauntlet on one hand but refused to take anything more with him. He wouldn’t go out in his suit simply because there was a bit of water missing in his pool; nothing horrible had happened. Everything. Was. Okay.

Still, his heart sped up in promptitude as he walked up the stairs, and JARVIS’ silence was one of worried anxiousness. It’s been a few days since Tony had gone into his pool, having chosen his shower the last few days to run quickly to a meeting or to have a brunch with Rhodey as they were talking about defence and security measures the army wanted to take and Tony – having sworn off producing weapons – gladly took up that offer.

Not that he liked to show off, but he _did_ like to show off. And Rhodey was an amazing partner, proven himself to be one since their days at MIT and the pancakes drenched in sweet syrup were a delicious bonus.

The pool did not _smell_ like a pool.

It smelled clean, salty. Perhaps the fresh breeze from earlier hadn’t stemmed from the sea, but from the pool instead. That was _enlightening,_ to say at least. Tony sighed quietly, his eyes set on the blue before him.

“Looks like water.” He cocked his head to a side, mulling over what he knew and what he saw. It didn’t make sense. Nothing did. All he wanted from today was to spend his time in the workshop and build a new suit, _not_ to stand on the outside and stare at his fucking _swimming pool_.

He hated Thursday from now on. Just, to make this abundantly clear.

There was nothing in the pool. Even as Tony sat down, his legs dangling into the water because –

There was _nothing_.

No enemy, no harmful substances in the air, just less water. It was cool, soaked through his trousers as he stared out into the sea.

Tony didn’t know how much time he lost as he sat there, enjoying the salty tang on his tongue and simply –

_Admired_ the view.

Schematics for a new suit were running through his head, nothing overly exciting only thinking about how cool a suit would be coming out _from a suitcase_ and how handy this would be. A smile curled on his lips, his feet drawing lazy circles in the water and –

Tony hadn’t _looked_. Had forgotten about his worries, content with the beautiful sight in front of him and –

He _didn’t think_ he’d be _attacked_ by his apparently _inhabited_ pool and okay, so he was –

“Hi,” he choked out as a long and slimy tendril he refused to give a name just yet, wrapped itself around his throat. And his arms. Yes.

“To be honest,” he continued and stared into the face painted with a cocky grin, and eyes that were too green to be _real,_ “I never thought I’d ever dream of tentacles.”

“Human.” And that word was spoken with such _distaste,_ it rolled off the half-octopus-human with an ease, the disgust an apparently well-practiced taste. The tentacles around Tony tightened, the grin turning nastier and a hand, a _human hand,_ settled on his thigh. It – He? Wrinkled his nose at him, eyes narrowing. “Your pool leaves much to be _desired.”_

“Desired, huh?” Tony coughed, trying to suck in as much air as possible. He was going to ignore the little suckers all around him and the fingers tapping on his thigh, tapping in a what his _guest_ probably considered a playful rhythm.

“Your water was full of chemicals,” the _guy_ purred and floated closer. Water was dripping down his face and when Tony tried to draw back, the _tentacles_ steeled and held him tighter. No escape. Tony almost felt hysterical at that, but then, he had some uh – _monster_ in his pool. His clothes hadn’t been cleaned at the time they were supposed to be picked up. His day had been ruined already. “And that when you have the sea so close by.”

“Yeah. But –“ he broke off, gasped for air. “ _Can you-“_ he croaked.

“Do you need air?” The guy sounded so sweetly concerned, Tony suddenly started to miss the disgust from earlier. The eyes narrowed, turned to hungry green slits and oh Einstein, did octopumans eat _humans?_ Maybe Tony should’ve worried about that earlier. The tentacle around his throat tightened for a moment. Tony saw mischief lurking in the depths of the other’s eyes, he was sure of that.

Somehow that made him feel less threatened.

No, this guy wasn’t going to kill him. Just, _played_ with him?

Then the tentacle unclenched, and Tony drew in _air, oh_ he needed this. It smelled of salt and the tentacle end stroked over his carotid softly. It stood in such a contrast to the hold Tony found himself in, that it made him grin. It was amazing what a bit of breathlessness could do with one.

“I need air too in my waters.” The not-so-human said. “And you mull my _waters_. Not only once but _so often_ that even when I have my cave free of plastic, it is _in my food_.”

“Oh.” Tony cleared his throat. “Sorry to hear that-“

“Yes, I thought so.” The guy levelled him with an amused gaze. “In my long and exhausting research to find a new home, I stumbled over this lovely house.”

“In your … _research?”_

“Yes.” The guy smirked. The tentacles petted his carotid. Maybe that was a thing half fish did. Petting skin where blood was running through, pulsating warmly. Weren’t octopus cold blooded? “How else do you think I walked into your pool?” He tilted his head back, baring his throat to Tony and sighed happily. “The view is nice and from what your internet tells me, you are more than capable of defending your home.”

“Internet. _You_. _WHAT?”_

“Humans.” The fish tsked. “I require food, a bed for when it scratches me to get out of the water for a while. Also, fresh water when this gets too old and reeks to much of fish. A library. The one you have will suffice for a while and –“

“What. What is-“ Tony tried to lift a hand. “What the fuck do you _want from me?”_

If a smile could be enigmatic, then this one in front of him sure was. Tony swallowed dryly.

“You are an interesting specimen, Tony Stark. And nobody will bother to search your pool and I can finally _rest_ and go out whenever I want to, and not being plagued by _trash_ all day.” He flicked a black curl away which was hanging in his face. “You’ve declared yourself a what was it?” He tilted his head. “A _superhero?_ ”

“Yes?” For some reason Tony sounded out of air again. Might’ve been the tentacles. His guest was _rude._

“Perfect. Then be a superhero and allow me to stay here because I’m pretty sure your company was a part of the pollution _I_ have to deal with. Only fair if you agree to house me here, right?”

Tony blinked. “I guess.”

“Splendiferous. It is very nice to meet you, Tony Stark.”

_Okay._ Yes. No need to panic. Not yet. Anyway. Not like he hasn’t been panicking anyway, but –

“Are your hands. Glowing. Greenly.”

“Indeed.” Tentacle-man held out a hand to him.

Yes. Totally normal. This was just how things happened, right?

Then Tony somehow promised _Loki_ – that was tentacle dude’s name – not to tell a single soul of his form. Not, that he was _living here_ which was either extremely clever or downright stupid and Tony was for some reason, really impressed by that.

Even more so by Loki’s magic which made the promise stronger and kind of unbreakable, full on Harry Potter style. Amazing.

“So,” Tony said as he brought pizza to Loki to the pool because he had pizza in his house. “Your magic-“

“Seiðr,” Loki interrupted him and rolled his eyes. His tentacles were floating in the water, and there was a relaxed expression resting on his face.

“-Is what made my electricity go off today?”

“Yes.”

“And you weren’t appearing on my security feed _because -?”_

“I walked in here unseen.”

“Walked.”

“I have _seiðr._ ” Loki sounded exhausted. “I am a Cecaelia. I can _shift_ my tentacles into your stiletto legs if I want to do that.”

“Ah.”

Loki reached for a slice of the pizza and eyed it curiously. “I’ve seen a lot of those.”

“Pizza’s good.” Tony took a slice for himself before he bit into the cheese greasiness. “So,” he said in between bites. “Welcome to mi casa?”

Loki nodded graciously.

“Since you’ll be living here-“ he chewed a bit more before he swallowed, “Any chance that I can scan your magic?”

“Seiðr,” Loki repeated slowly.

“Still magic.”

“If you say that word once more, I will drown you.” Loki threw him a look from under his lashes.

“Magic?”

“ _Human_ ,” Loki muttered, mischief in his voice and before Tony knew – _lie –_ what was happening, tentacles wrapped themselves around his calves and –

Water sloshed into his face.

_Saltwater._

Tony’s feet hit the ground and he used it to repel himself, breaking through the surface easily.

“That-“ he gasped, “was _rude.”_

“I warned you, didn’t I?” Loki took a bite from his pizza, chewing slowly.

“Yes,” Tony sighed. “You did.”

The water was a bit too cold for his taste. Maybe he could talk with Loki about making the water a bit warmer for when Tony wanted to take a swim in here.

Preferably, after when he had more coffee.


End file.
